I Bought A $200 Mattress From Amazon. Here's How I've Been Sleeping.

Mattress shopping is the worst: You've got aggressive salespeople, tester beds that hundreds of other shoppers have already tried out, and just minutes to decide if a hunk of foam and springs is an adequate place to rest for eight hours a night. Plus, a new mattress set can set you back hundreds, if not thousands.

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Those are the main reasons why I skipped mattress shopping altogether when I was gearing up to move from New Jersey to Brooklyn last month. I knew Casper, Leesa, Purple, and Tuft and Needle are just a few of the growing number of companies that sell foam mattresses exclusively online and ship them to you in a compact box. Though most boast a 100-night return policy, I still couldn’t bring myself to drop more than $500 on a mattress that I hadn’t tested before. So, on Amazon Prime Day, when the Zinus Memory Foam mattress was marked down to just $160 with free delivery, I went for it. That's less than delivery would have cost at many brick-and-mortar stores.

Made of three inches of memory foam, two inches comfort foam, 3.5 inches airflow high-density foam, and 3.5 inches airflow high-density base support foam, the Zinus is covered in a knitted fabric that makes it look much more expensive than it really is. It's CertiPUR certified, meaning it's made without toxic chemicals like formaldehyde and flame retardants, and it comes with a five-year warranty. You can choose between various thicknesses from six to 12 inches. I opted for the 12-inch. It's also infused with green tea extract and castor oil for odor relief.

Even with these specs, when I pressed the order button, I was more nervous than excited.

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My new bed arrived a few days later in a cardboard box wrapped in plastic—nothing glamorous. I had my 19-year-old brother help me carry it up to my third-floor walk-up, and while I won’t say it was easy, neither of us threw out our back, either. As soon as I took it out of the box and rolled it out, it started rising. Some reviewers on Amazon have said their beds smelled weird, but mine didn’t emit any particular odor. I unpacked the rest of my stuff and went shopping. By the time I got back about 10 hours later, it was 12 inches thick and ready for me to get some shut-eye.

I didn't expect much from the Zinus. But compared to all the beds I've slept on in recent years—the three I had during undergrad, the one for grad school, the $2,000 pillow-top at my parents' house—the Zinus really is my favorite.

It's a bit firm (maybe too firm for some), but whether I'm on my back, side, or stomach, the Zinus conforms to my body and supports me in the exact right position for a restful night. Unlike the ultra-plush mattress at my parents' house, which gave me backaches, I've woken up pain-free every morning. And although some people complain that foam mattresses make them overheat, I've never woken up in a sweat, despite it being the middle of summer.

I've only slept in this bed alone so far, so I can't say for certain whether or not it's a good option for couples. But it seems to do a great job of absorbing shock: a few days ago, I had just put a plate of avocado toast on my bed when I tripped and landed hard on the mattress. The plate didn't budge.

The bottom line: I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Zinus mattress. It's no longer at that rock-bottom $160 price, but even now, it's only $229 for a queen.

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